Journal

Field notes & essays.

Music, film, business, code — long-form thinking from across the work.

How I Use AI in Music Production Without Selling My Soul

My current AI-assisted music production stack — and the hard line I won't cross. Practical workflow, not hype.

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Why Every Saudi Founder Should Be Fluent in MCP

Model Context Protocol isn't a buzzword — it's the integration layer for the next decade. A founder's guide for the GCC.

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Saudi Photography in 2026: A Cultural Renaissance Through the Lens

Ten years ago, photographing the streets of Riyadh felt rebellious. Today, it’s a national mandate. I picked up my first serious camera before any of this. Before the…

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What Voice Acting Taught Me About Software UX

Five UX principles I stole from the voice booth and now use every time I ship product at MLO Technologies.

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The Hidden Cost of Building a Brand in Arabic and English

Translating isn't branding. The real work — and real cost — of building a brand that lands in both Arabic and English.

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Why the World Is Finally Listening to Oud in 2026

Oud has always been our language. In 2026, the world is finally learning to listen. When I founded Hdaiacom Perfume, I wasn’t trying to ride a trend. Growing…

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Spotify Royalties in 2026: The Real Numbers

After the threshold change, what does a stream actually pay an independent artist in 2026? Open-book numbers from a working artist.

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AI Agents in 2026: The Year They Stopped Being Demos

By 2026, the AI hype is over. What’s left is the work — and that’s where it gets interesting. I’ve been running businesses across voice acting, music, perfume,…

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GPT-6, Claude 5 and the End of the Benchmark Era

Frontier models stopped getting benchmarked the same way. Here's why model evaluation broke and what replaces it in 2026.

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The Multidisciplinary Discount: Why Specialists Earn More Until They Don’t

On the hidden tax multidisciplinary creators pay early — and the compounding edge that flips the curve later.

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